Method of and means for making tubing.



W. G. FRIGK. METHOD or AND MEANS PoR MAKING TUBING. APPLIGATION FILEDMAB.. 9, 1908.l

Patented Apr.y 11, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Patented Apr. 11,1911.

3 SHEETS-BEBET 2.

W. C. FRIGK. METHOD 0F AND MEANS FOR MAKING TUBING.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 9. 190B.

. W. G. FRIGK. METHOD 0F AND MEANS POR MAKING'TUBING.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9, 1908. 989,497.

WILLIAM C. FRICAK, 0F DEAL BEACH, NEW JERSEY.l

METHOD 0F AND MEANS FOR MAKING TUBING.

nearer. A

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led March 9, 1908. Seria! No. 420,094,

To all whom it 'may concern: Y

Be it known that l, WILLIAM C. FRicn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Deal Beach, in the county of Monmouth and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful improvements in llilethodsof and Means for Making Tubing, of which the following is aspecification.

My' invention relates to improvements in the method of and means formanufacturing metal tubing, and its object is to 'produce tubing kby onecontinuous and progres- ,si've method starting from the point where themet-al leaves the rolling mill heating furnace and ending with thefinished product. in the shape of welded tubing. By making tubing inthis manner l ain enabled to manufacture welded tubing direct from therolling mill furnace and afterthe billet is passed through the rollingmib and is formed thereby it is, a'sifast as it is rolled, passedAthrough the tube forming mechanism while still retaining a part 'of theheat imparted ,to it-prior to yits rolling. The now formed tubing, whichas stated still has a portion` of the initial heat *which was givenprioi` to its rolling, has itsl heat supplemented by additionalsuccessive and progressive heating until it reaches a welding heat` andthen its two edges arel welded or fused together. It will thus be `seenthat l am enabled to form a web `or plate and rapidly, continuously andprogressively,

feed this hot plate, form it into a tube, add heat units successivelyand progressively until the already heated tube reaches the weldingpoint, and then weld or fuse it.

It has heretofore been proposed to turn or bend a skelp 'from the rolltrain of a mill and form it into a tube ready for subsequent welding,but at this point the productis allowed to cool and thus loses all theheat imparted to it in the rolling mill furnace. lt is also old to makenlate orvskelp and allow it to cool in its tinislied flat shape, and thenat a subsequent time and in another furnace again heat it, bend it intoshape and weld it into a finished pi ebut by this methodit ispossible toweld a pi e of no greater length than from() to 40 feet since this isusually the capacity of the furnaces for reheating the skelp, or tostate it in another way, it is impossible to weld it as rapidly as it isproduced by the rolling mill. To repeat: In the existing methods ofvwelding tubing there' are no appliances by which a portion of the heatgeneratedfin the rolling mill heating furnace is saved and used in theinal welding of the seam or joint of the finished tubing; and there isno appliance by which welded tubing is made from the slab, billet orpile placed in rolling mill heating furnaces and by the use of supplementary heat applied successively and progressively to the two edges ofthe bent or formed tube, the formed plate or skelp is rapidly,continuously and` progressively welded as fast as the rolling mill rollsthe slab or billetfinto skelp shape prior to its being formed into tubeshape. l am enabled to accomplish the desired result by adding to theheat remaining in the slrelp after the rolling thereof, ,supplementalheat yat a plurality of places along the path of the tube until theremaining heat, supplemented by the additional heat, raises the heat ofthe formed tube, successively and progressively, unt-il va weldingcheat. is

reached. By supplementing heat units successively and progressively tothe already heated product of the rolling mill and its furnace, l amenabled to heat and weld the tubing as rapidly as the mill produces it.

patenten npr. ii, ieri.`

ln the drawings accompanying and form i ing partof this application andwhich it will be understood represent the preferable, though notnecessary, embodiment of my invention: Figure l is a sectional view ofmy apparatus y showing in conventional form part of the apparatusemployed, it being understood that Ltaiious appliances may besubstituted for those shown. Fig, 2 isa ton plan view of the apparatusshown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa view showing the di'erent shapes the metalassumes from the time it leaves. the rolling mill heating furnace untilit 'is formed in weldedV shape, the metal irst passing through thediderent. passes of the rolling mill, .then being bent gradually intotube shape, and finally `welded. lFig. t is a view similar to liig. El,

on a much enlarged scale, showing a modilied form of my invention, butwith thev first three rolls of the rolling mill and part of thesupplemental heating devices omitted, in order to show the parts on alarger scale. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the product of mymethod and apparatus from the time the vmetal leaves the urnace .untilit is formed into the tube.y Figs. 6 and 7 are perspective details ofpart of the means for forming the skelpv into tube shape, it beingunderstood that these devices are oldV and well known in thev art. Fig.8 is a perspective view of the means for holding the tube into. shaas'its heat is successively and progressive y augmented.

Fig. 9 isra sectional viewof the 'device shown in F ig. 8, except thatan electric heating device ispshown. Fig. 10 is a sectional detail of amodified form of the last holding device wherein the tube welded.

tional form,` a rolling 'mill heating furnaceA continuous type andcomprises four setsv of 1 rolls, 2, 3, 4 and 5.; these sets of rollsform-.

ingsby numerals: 1 designates, in convendelivering`` a billetA to- ,anyform-v of rolling mill'which, as lshown in the is of ing the rollirgdevicesand which are geared together as ustrated in Fig. 2 and drivenfrom the main shaft 6.A It will be understood that this rolling mill, aswell as the furnace, is'shownin conventional form only and that othermills of this kindor of any' Fig. 1 in order to bring the furnace nearerto the rolling mill and as the billet passes through the successivepasses, it is gradually rolled into shape so that at the time it passesout of the fourth pass designated'by the numeral 5, itis of the properthickness to be formed into the tube which the apparatus isl designed tomake.

The rolling mill, in addition to gradually forming the billet a into askelp, shown at b, c, d and e, feeds th skelp in the form in which it isrepresented at e\\throu h the bending devices shown in Figs. 1 am? 2 andperspective view in Fig. 7, these devices comprising the members 8 and10 such'for eX- ample as shown in U. S. Patent No. 57 5,225,

granted January 12, 1897 to Frick and Price.'

The result of the forcing of the metal through the devices 8 and 10 isto form the -skelp into the shape shown at f in Fig. 3 and as the skelpisI pushed still further the devices 8 and 10 form it into the shape'shown at g. The further feeding of the' skelp forces it through the pairof rolls 12 and 14, the' first of which has a U-shaped tongue fittinginto a similarly shaped groovein the lower roll 14, these rollsalsobeing shown in the aforesaid patent. 'The feeding of the skelpthrough these rolls brings the skelp to a U-shape as shown at k in Fig.3.

is both heated and Referring howto the details of the draw the furbesuccessively and progressively int l By inspecting Fig. 2 it will beseen that although the skelp is forced into the rolls g chain 20. Thesesprocket wheels are of uniform size so that the rolls 12 and '14 move atprecisely. the same speed as thevarious sets of rolls of the rollingmill. vThe U-shaped skelp is-now fed throu h the' tube fornnn devices22, 23 and 24 shown in Figs. 1 an 2 and in devices being the mme devices`as are shown tivel view .in 6, thjef in the aforesaid patent' to Frickvand Price i and are therefore"l well known in the art. The result ofthe passage of the 'Ufshaped skelp through the devices 22,23 and 2A.- isthat the U-shaped skelp isgradually brought from the shape shown at h tothe shapes shown at z', y', l1, the latter being in the form of acomplete tube withits edges touching each other ready for weldingfbutnot welded. The complete tube, w ich -it must be remembered retains aconsi erable degree of heat from lthe heat imparted to the billet in therolling mill heating furnace, is now fed through theV supplementalheating devices so as to add to the residuary or remaining heatsuilicient heat to successively and progressively bring said remainingheat up to welding heat in o` der that the edges of said tube may be weled or fused.

In the form in Figs. l and 2,`I have employed ten auxiliary heatingdevicesv arranged to burn gas and all fed from a common supply but it isto be understood that the number of these heating devices may beincreased or decreased as occasion may require. For instance the heatleft in the skelp after its assage from the furnace through the rol lngmill and tube former may be, in a given thickness of tube, in theneighborhood of 1,500 degrees, and heat is successively andprogressively added to the tube as it rapidly passes through thesupplemental heating devices and the vnumber of said heating devicesshown in the drawing may be sulicient for one thickness of tube whilefor a greater thickness a larger number maybe necessary and with athinner tube fewer heating devices will be sufficient. These heatingdevices, in the form which I now prefer to use them, are shown in drtailin Figs. 8 and 9 and as there shown each of them consists of a vtubesupporting box 3Q secured to va suitable support 32. Each of thesesupporting boxes is provided with a longitudinal chamber having apassage of the exact shape of the exterior of the tube; these chambersbeing constructed so that as the formed tube passes successively throughthe various heating devices, the tube will be heldin position with its.edges in the proper place to receive the supplemental heat from the'various heatin devices. The supporting boxes 30 are ho low and each isprovided 'with a. water inlet 34and an outlet 36 so that it can be keptat the proper temperature notwithstanding the intense heat imparted toit. Above each of the heating devices is 4arra ed, as shown in Figs. 1,2, 8 and 9, a gas urner 38 arranged to impart heat to the ed es of thetube'which Aare exposed throng the top of the box 30. While l have showna series of gas burners, it will of course be understood that heat maybe supplied in any of the ways now so well known and that I am notlimiting my invention to a series of gas heating devices.

In the form shown in Fig. i, assuming that the tube has remainin in itabout 1500 20 degrees of heat, the said ormed tube as it passes throughthe succession of supporting boxes 30 successively and (progressivelyhas additional heat units adde to it by the plurality of heating devicesuntil, by the time the tube passes out of the last heating box, it hasreached at least welding heat. '.lhen the tube at or above weldin heatis fed through a welding die comprising two members 40 and 41 which arearranged to create pressure against the hot edges'oi the ipe which itwlll be remembered are at wel ing or fusing heat. The pipe now welded orfused, passes through another pair of rolls 44 which maybe merelydriving rolls driven from the rolling mill through the rolls 12 and 14as shown in Fig. 2 by means oit' the belt 46 and pulleys 47 and 48.These rolls 44 in addition to assistingl the tube in its passage throughthe mill, ma l also, of course,

hold its welded edges in s ape. it will be ,observed that these rolls 44are vthe only means of drawing the rear end of the tubing through theheating and welding devices after said rear end passes out of the rolls45 12 and 14. i

It will be observed that the water jacketed boxes 30 are of considerablelength Vand that they are separated from each other by a small air sace,r and that the extent of the heat flame (1f gas be-used) is verylimited with respect to the lengthof the boxes 30. The reasons for theseare that, owing to the length of pipe between the jets, the great I heatof the jets (which may be about twice that of welding heat) has a chanceto spread, and owing to the spaces between the boxes, any scale formedon the pipehas a chance to drop away' or be scraped ed by the passage ofthe tubing through the succeeding box. p

In the modified form shown in Fig. 4 l have omitted the welding dies 40and 41 in which case the welding pressure is formed by the rollers 44.In this form of me invention l have added a'second pair of orm-y ingrolls 5 0 which are identical with the rolls y shown in the aforesaidpatent of Frick and Price, No. 575,225. It will be understood that inthis Fig. 4 in order to show the parts on a larger scale l have omitteda number 7G of heatinfr devices and have also omitted. a number di therolls of the rolling mill.

In the form shown' in Fig. 9 l. have shown inJ conventional form anelectric heating dc-f vice 51, and it will be understood that whenelectricity is the heating medium, electric heating devices of anydesired kind are substituted for the as burning devices, so as tosuccessively am? progressively augment by electric heating devices theheat remainingrin the tubing in the same way as is illustrated for'the,gast burning devices of Figs. 1,2 and 3.

ln the modification shown in Fig. 10, l have illustrated a modificationof the last of the series ofivater jacketed boxes. 'ln this form the boxinstead of being open for its entire length is closed at the dischargeend as shown at in` order that as the tubino goes through said -cndi2-the highly 90 heate edges of the tube are held in press-v ing contactso that they are Welded or fused together, and when this form 'is usedthe dies 40 and 41 may be dispensed with.,

Notwithstanding the act that l have Aquite fully disclosed my lmethodand means' forv manufacturin 'tubing as l have described the details othe apparatus employed by me, it may, nevertheless be best to repeat theoperation which is as follows: The billet which is fed' from the rollingmill heating furnace and which it will be understood is at about .weldinheat, is fed through the four pairs of ro 1s of the rolling mill thusbringing it from the billet shape a to the shapes shown atb, c, d and e.y Then, by the same power and pressure which rolls the billet ntoskeIpshape, the skelp, in the shape shown vat c, is forced through ,theforming devices 8 and 10, shown in Fig. 7, to successively bring theskelp to the shapes shown at f and g. Then the, skelp is passed 4throughthe rolls 12 and 14 bringing it.to

the 'U-shape shown at h. Now the U-shaped metal, still hot, is fedthrough the forming devices 22, 23 and 24 so that the tube is completelyformedjthrough the stages i, j and 1. By this time,;fthe hea-t of theskelp which it `will be `rememberedcame from the furnace lio iso

41 Where the edges are held pressed into Welding or fusing contact. Thetube now completely Welded is assed through the rolls 44 and discharged1n finished shape.

From the foregoing it will be understood that I am enabled tocontinuously and progressively make Welded tubing from the billet whichleaves the heating furnace and Without losing all of the heat im artedto the billet from said furnace. n other Words, Iafter forming the hotbillet into skelp shape and then into tube shape I add successively andprogressively to the heat remaining in it` suflicient vheat to augmentthe heat in the tube suiiiciently to bring it to welding heat and thenweld or fuse the edges. I thus make complete Welded tubing from thebillet in one progressive operation and believe I am the irst to do thisand intend the following claims to broadly protect this invention. Itwill oi" course be understood that by the use. of the Word billet lintend tocover-pile, slab-or any other form or mass of metal from whichskelps are rolled.

What I claim as my invention is l. That improvement in the art offorming welded tubing in one continuous oper ation directly from a hotbillet or pile, which consists in converting said hot billet or pileinto tubular skelp, while said tubular skelp is still hot-fand While itis traveling at a high rate of speed through the passes of a rollingmill-progressively augmenting the heat at the meeting edges of saidskelp suiiiciently to bring the said edges to the Welding temperature,and welding said edges together when the iveldin temperature is soreached.

2. The metho of making tubing which method consists in rollino a heatedbillet into tubular form, and as 1t issues from the forming rollsprogressively raising the edges to a welding tem erature, and weldin thesame as it issues rom the rolling and eat-- ing means.

3. The method of making Atubin which method consists in feedin a hotillet to reducing rolls, rolling sai vbillet into skelp shape, sha insaid hot skelp into tube shape, utilizing tiie eat remaining in saidtubing and in successively end progressively supplementing saidremaining heat until the remaining heat and the suglemental heat reachwelding heat, and w ing or fusing the edges of said tube.

4. The method of making tubing which met-hod consists in feedin -a hotbillet to reducing rolls, rolling sai billet into skelp shape, shapingsaid hot skelp into tube shape, utilizing the heat remaining in saidtubing and successively and progressively augmenting said remaining heatuntil the remaining heat Aplus the augmented heat reach welding heat,and welding or fusing the edges of said tubing, the successively andprogressively augmented heat being ap lied to the tube as it issues fromthe tube s aping means and the Welding being completed as the tubeissues from the tube shaping means and heating devices.

5. In apparatus for making Welded tubing, the combination of a rollingmill adapted to roll a hot billet into a skelp, means for forming thehot skelp into tube shape, means for successively and progressivelyadding heat units to said already heated tube until it reaches Weldingheat, and means for welding the edges of said tube, the speed or' thematerial through the tube forming means and through the welding meansbeing controlled by the rolling mill.

G. In apparatus for making Welded tubing, the combination of a rollingmill adapted to roll metal from a billet into skelp shape, tubev`forming or shaping means adapted to receive the 'hot skelp from therolling mill and shape it into tubing, means for successively andprogressively adding or supplementing heat. to said already heated tube,and means for drawing the finished tube from the welding device.

7. In apparatus for making Welded tubing, the combination of a rollingmill adapted to roll metal from a billet into skelp shape, tube forming`or shaping means adapted to receive the hot skelp from the rolling milland shape it into tubing, means comprisinga plurality of heating devicesadapted lto successively and progressively add or supplement heat tosaid already heated tube, and means for welding or" fusing the edges ofsaid tube.

8. In apparatus for making Welded tubing, the combination of a rollingmill adapted to roll metal from a billet into skelp shape, tube formingor shaping means adapted to receive the hot skelp from the rolling milland shape it into tubin means comprising a plurality of water Jacketedheating devices adapted to successively and progressively add orsupplement heat to said already heated tube, an means for welding orfusing the edges of said tube.

9. In apparatus for making welded tubing, the combination of a rollingmill adapted to roll metal from a billet into skelp shape, tube formingor shaping means adapted to receive the hot skelp from the rolling milland sha it into tubing, means comprising a plura ity of heating devicesadapted to successively and progressively add or supplement heat to saidalready heated tube, said heating devices having a space between them.

10. Inapparatus for making welded tubing, the com ination of arollngmill ada t ed to roll a billet into a skelp, means or forming a skelpinto tube shape, means for successively and progressively adding heatunits to said already heated tube until it 13C reaches welding heat, andmeans for Welding the`.edges of said tube, the aforesaid rolling millforcing the skelp through the tube forming and Welding devices.

ll. In apparatus for makingwelded tubing, the combination of a rollingmill adapted to roll a hot billet into a skelp, means for tm'ming thehot skelp into tube shape, means tor successively .and progressivelyadding heat units to said already heated tube until it reaches weldingheat, means for welding the edges of said tube, and rolls for drawingthe finished tube from the heating devicesv` tln rolling mill, thefeeding and the drawing rolls being driven synchronously.

1:2. In apparatus for making Welded tubing the combination of a rollingmill adapted to roll metal from a billet into skelp shape, tube formingor shapingr means adapted to receive the hot skelp from the rolling milland shape it into tubing, and means for successively and progressivelyadding or supplementing heat to lsaid already heated tube, as thetubeissues from the tube forming means, said heating means comprising aseries of heating devices, and means t'or supporting the tubing as itpasses under the influence of said heating devices, comprising a seriesof boxes each having a longitudinal chamber rin 'which the bottom andsides ot' the tubing is supported and ach chamber being open at thepoint Where the tubing is exposed to the heat.

13. In apparatus for making Welded tub'- Ving the combination of arolling mill adapted torollmetaliroma billet. into skelp shape, tubeforming or shaping means adapted to receive the hot skelp from therolling mill and shape it into tubing, and means for successively andprogressively adding or .supplementing heat tol said already heatedtube, as the tube issues from the tube forming means, said heat-ingmeans comprising a series of heating devices, and means for supportingthe tubing as it passes under the inluence otl said heating devices,comprising a series of Water jacketed boxes each having a longitudinalchamber in ivhich the bottom and sides of the tubing is supported andeach chamber being open at the point-where the tubing is exposed to theheat.

14. ln appa atus for making Welded tubing, the combination of heatingdevices, and means for supporting the tubing as it passes under theinfluence of said heating devices, said supporting means comprising aseries of water jacketed boxes each having a longitudinal chamber forthe passage of thetubing and each chamber being open at the point wherethe tubing is exposed to the heat., the last of said boxes also formingthe Welding device as the tube passes through it. Signed by me atlVashington, D. C. this 4th day of March 1908.

, VILLAM C..FRCK.

lVitnesses T nos. E. ROBERTSON, ARTHUR E. DoWELL.

